As ‘tis the season of goodwill', this month I’m going to share one of our family traditions with you all.
 
On Christmas eve, we will be tracking Santa’s progress and he travels around the globe delivering all those gifts to children young and old. There are several apps out there to help – the oldest is the NORAD Santa tracker which is available on Apple and Android apps as well as on your desktop or laptop browser.

NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command and they have been tracking Santa now since 1955 and telling children where Santa has been spotted on their radar. www.noradsanta.org
You might also want to try the Google version at https://santatracker.google.com/village.html
 
There are another couple of things you can do both with and for the little people in your family at Christmas that we have great fun with.
 
Try the Elf Yourself app (on iOS, Android and browser) and make some great elf animations into which you paste selfie face shots or photos of family members. This make excellent electronic greetings to send around your family as well as being good fun to make. You can include up to five family members – so go fish out a picture of all your kids and get creating.
https://www.elfyourself.com/
 
Last but not least, how about a video for your children sent direct from Santa in the North Pole? You can personalise a message so that Santa knows your child’s name and what they have asked for as gifts and so on. This is a great one for bedtime on Christmas eve to encourage your little ones to sleep…well, try at least! Do be aware that this has both free and premium (Paid) options. The free ones are terrific though.
https://www.portablenorthpole.com/en/home
 
Most of all, we wish you and yours the very best at Christmas and hope that Santa has you all on his ‘nice’ list and brings you everything you deserve.

A Merry Christmas to you and all your family.

Tis the Season of Good Will - written for File Genie by Freelance Writer Ruth Raymer @WritingWalking

With more channels than ever before and Christmas movies, Sport and Kids TV coming out of our ears, it represents quite a challenge in a household where there are more people than TV sets and everyone wanting to watch something different.

But wait… did you know you might have the answer in front of you?



​Your device – phone, tablet, laptop or PC can provide you with the opportunity to watch streamed TV wherever you are (though some services require you to be using the same WiFI network as your TV provider – see below).
Whether you are an Android, iOS or Windows phone user, you will find apps in your app store for many of the UK TV providers – ITV hub, BBC iPlayer, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are now joined by Sky Go and Sky Q – for Sky TV subscribers, and Virgin, NOW TV, and others also have bespoke apps to view their content with your subscriber details. The same apps are of course available on your iPad or other tablet, the Microsoft Store or as websites to watch from your browser on any device.

There are also several apps available that bring together content from the main TV providers in one place. My favourite is TV Catch Up, though be aware that these may well have adverts interrupting your viewing, you are watching TV streamed with a few seconds delay from the real thing, so not truly live, but almost.
Most of these apps require you to register to use them, but most have opt-out options, so you don’t get bombarded with emails from them.

One thing to remember is that these apps and websites will be using your internet connection, so if your phone or tablet are using your mobile signal, they will eat your data allowance rather quickly. If you can connect through WiFi, you will not need to worry about extra data charges.
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Finally, have a happy, peaceful holiday, whatever you are watching.

Are You Looking Forward To All The Offerings This Christmas? - written for File Genie by Freelance Writer Ruth Raymer @WritingWalking

There are more reasons than just the cost when thinking about whether to repair or ditch your PC. 

Our computers contain thousands of different components, and some of them are not so good for the environment. The big issues occur in making the computer initially, and then again when disposing of it. Here are five environmental reasons for repairing your PC rather than buying a new one.
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1. Though using your computer and not printing things on paper can help to reduce damage to the environment, it takes a whole lot of energy to produce a PC in the first place.
2. Mining for rare earth minerals causes untold damage to the land and to the wildlife, plant-life and people who lived on it before mining.
3. Several rare metals are used in making the small components in your PC. Some, like hafnium, are so rare, they are running out.
4. The plastics in your computer take many, many years to degrade if they end in landfill, as do the metal cases.
5. Monitors contain mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and beryllium and there are rules about how they can be disposed of because of the toxic levels of these elements in them. If they go to landfill they could pollute the land for years to come.

Keeping your PC clean, free of dust and turning it off at night will all help to reduce the amount of energy it uses too. Once your computer has come to the end of its life, try to ensure it is disposed of correctly – ask at your Civic Amenity Site if you are not sure or your local council’s website.
 
‘5 Environmental Reasons for Repairing Your PC Rather Than Buying a New One’ - written for File Genie by Freelance Writer Ruth Raymer @WritingWalking